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“A group of governors launched an initiative Monday to deal with a projected workforce shortage in the clean energy industry by training 1 million people by 2035 to do those jobs.
The Democrats’ climate law, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, combined with the bipartisan infrastructure law and CHIPS and Science Act, are beginning to drive increased private sector investments in electric vehicles, batteries, solar, wind and other clean technologies. But the clean energy industry doesn’t have enough workers to match that level of growth.
The initiative, the details of which were first obtained by POLITICO, aims to build a robust labor supply, possibly by using state and federal funds to train workers for these jobs through apprenticeship programs.
‘I’m seeing this in real terms. It’s not a statistic. It’s real flesh and blood people in my state getting these jobs,’ Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said in an interview.”
Launched on June 1, 2017 by the governors of Washington, New York, and California to help fill the void left by the previous administration’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, the Alliance has grown to include 24 governors from across the U.S. representing approximately 60% of the U.S. economy and 55% of the U.S. population. Governors in the Alliance have pledged to collectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025, at least 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030, and collectively achieve overall net-zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as practicable, and no later than 2050.
The Alliance’s states and territories continue to demonstrate that climate action goes hand-in-hand with economic growth, job creation, and better public health. While reducing collective greenhouse gas emissions by 19%, Alliance members increased their collective GDP by 30%. The coalition’s states and territories are employing more workers in the clean energy sector, achieving lower levels of dangerous air pollutants, and preparing more effectively for climate impacts and executing more pre-disaster planning than the rest of the country.
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